2011 New York Giants on the Verge of Another…Super Bowl Run?

If you listened to talk radio over the past couple of weeks many broadcasters and fans alike were drawing comparisons between the 2011 New York Giants and the 2007 New York Giants. An underdog team in 2007 the New York Giants started the season 0-2 coming off an 8-8 season in 2006. The Giants went on to rattle off six straight wins, then go 6-4 for the rest of the season ending up at 10-6. As the number 5 seed in the playoffs they knocked off the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers all on the road. They went into the Super Bowl and beat the 18-0 New England Patriots 17-14 for one of the most unlikely Super Bowl wins in history.

In 2011 the New York Giants watched many free agents leave and the injuries pile up. They still managed to be 6-2 mid-way through the season after another dramatic win over the Patriots. In the weeks following this win I heard fans calling into local New York radio stations comparing these Giants to the Super Bowl winning team. Comparing rookie players like Da’rel Scott, Mark Herzlich and Prince Amukumara to players on that historic 2007 team such as Ahmad Bradshaw, Kawika Mitchell and Corey Webster. In the weeks since posting the 6-2 record the Giants have dropped 3 straight games and fans are starting to get restless.

But we have to remember that this team is not that 2007 Giants team. The Giants in 2007-2008 had everything possible fall in place for that run. They had stars in the making such as Ahmad Bradshaw and Corey Webster emerging at the right time, they had players that were cancers on the team such as Jeremy Shockey on the bench, they had leadership on the defense with Michael Strahan and Sam Madison and most importantly they had defensive mastermind Steve Spagnuolo running the defense.

Now if you listen to the Giants players, they say that they are still in the driver’s seat. Here is what Justin Tuck said after their thrashing in New Orleans 49-24: “It’s tough because we know in the back of everyone’s head they are going to say what’s wrong with the Giants after three straight losses. But for us, we look forward to the next game because we feel like it’s the playoffs right now. We aren’t going to sit here and feel sorry for ourselves. We are going to go out there and fight. “

Since 2007 the Giants have said all the right things, but the record does not lie. They are on the brink of missing the playoffs for the third straight season. They are wasting talented and precious seasons with star players such as Eli Manning and Ahmad Bradshaw. I know the easy thing to say is the coaching staff has to go, but it also has to be on the players. The Giants need to figure out a way to foster leadership in that locker room and especially on the defensive side of the ball. They need to go out and make their #1 free agent signing a character guy who can get that locker room together. It is the only way to bring the Giants back to where they were in 2007.

Sources:

Wilkipedia: 2007 New York Giants season, retrieved 11/28/2011

Giants.com: Postgame Giants players interview, Justin Tuck, retrieved 11/28/2011


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